Page 4 - Chronicles of Darkness

“As long as we’re clear on that.” Mena picked up a
screw from the ground next to Dawn. “Geeze, whoever
broke these doors sure didn’t know what they were
doing. Can I have your flashlight?”
Dawn handed it over. “The lens is cracked, but the
bulb still works. What do you mean?”
Mena gestured at the metal detritus around them.
“I mean that they didn’t just take the knob off, they
wrecked it. These screws are stripped, and the wood’s
cracked where they must have....pulled it out? Dawn,
what room is this?”
Dawn looked up. “It’s pretty dark, so I’m not sure, but I
think it’s the compactor room. Why?”
“Who would want to break the door to the trash
compactor? It’s half off its hinges.”
Dawn went pale. “Mena, what are we actually doing
down here?”
“Well you heard my mom. When Jenna went missing,
it was down here. So it’s the best place to check. And
the cops didn’t even look for her. They probably
missed lots of stuff down here.”
“Like the creepy old woman chasing us?”
“Well if they’d seen her, wouldn’t they have done
something?”
Dawn shot Ximena an irritated look. “Yeah, they would
have shot her and then we all would have gotten
arrested for making the place look untidy. Use your
dang head, Mena. They didn’t look because they didn’t
want to find anything.”
“Maybe they knew there was something down here?
I saw the cop who handcuffed your dad talking to the
lawyer who’s been hassling papi to sell this place.”
Dawn shuddered. “Ew, the one with the milky eyes?
He gives me the creeps. Why didn’t you tell me you
thought there might be someone down here?”
“I didn’t think they would still be here! Or that you
were going to blind the first thing we saw before
cracking it in the face with your flashlight.”
“At least I’m taking initiative.” She paused for half a
breath. “Don’t you live here? How do you not know
where the emergency exits are?”
“Not all of us were born thirty years old, Dawn. There’s
a map on the door in my apartment, okay? I didn’t
think I’d need to memorize it.”
Dawn digested that for a moment, looking thoughtful.
“But, if you had to guess? The next door? The one
after that? Mena, we’ve got to have run at least a mile
by now and we haven’t even turned a corner. The
building isn’t this big.”
“Look!” Mena grabbed Dawn’s shoulder and they
careened toward a door fitted so close to the wall that
they had almost run past it. “See, I told you the fire
door was this way.”
“Mena...are you sure this is the right door?” The door
was damp and hot to the touch, its surface so soft that
Dawn’s hand left fingerprints where she touched it.
She quickly pulled her hand away.
“Ew! Mena, the door was feeling my hand. It was, like,
touching me back.”